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The Antichrist

By Kim Riddlebarger

Perhaps no subject broached by contemporary Bible prophecy teachers engenders more speculation and less sound Biblical exegesis than does the subject of Antichrist. This is certainly due to the mysterious nature of the subject itself, as well as to the fact that no other aspect of Bible prophecy lends itself so nicely to speculation regarding the identification of one specific individual who will become the very personification of evil and the archenemy of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

“Pin the tail” on the Antichrist is not merely an evangelical fascination. Indeed, such speculation has gone on almost from the beginning of Christianity. Irenaeus (130-200) argued that Antichrist would be a Jewish born, satanically inspired, usurper of God’s true glory, who would appear in the Jerusalem temple in connection with an end-times great apostasy. (1) The Protestant Reformers, of course, universally identified the papacy with the Antichrist, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1540) stating that “the papacy will also be a part of the kingdom of Antichrist if it maintains that human rites justify (XV.18).” The Westminster Confession (1647) contends that the Pope is “that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God (XXV.6).” Rome, not to be outdone, has returned the favor, contending that antichristic Protestant “heresies have swept down from the North, where Calvin, Wycliffe, Luther and legions of Protestants are ravaging the flock of Christ.” (2)

But there is no doubt that much of contemporary speculation has taken the concept of identifying the Antichrist to new extremes. One of my favorite possessions is a booklet passed on to me by my grandmother, entitled The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (1939), wherein the author attempts to demonstrate that the revived Germany under Hitler in the pre-World War II years is the supposed last-days ten-nation confederacy predicted in Revelation 13. Of course, the author very deftly demonstrates how Mussolini is the false prophet and how Italian imperialism in Ethiopia is proof that Rome is the great harlot of Revelation 18 and compatriot of the German beast. I can still remember the fear instilled in me as a child, when I heard, one preacher declare that Antichrist was then living somewhere in the Middle East, probably still a child playing stickball in some crowded dusty street, awaiting the day when he would be possessed by the devil and allowed to wreck havoc on the world after the rapture.

One local Bible prophecy “expert” has made a seminar and media career out of identifying King Juan Carlos of Spain as the Antichrist. Others have tabbed, at one time or another, virtually every leader of the Soviet Union, the Middle East and the European Economic Community as possibilities to become the archenemy of Jesus Christ. Perhaps more representative of modern speculators is Chuck Smith, founder and patriarch of Calvary Chapel. Smith has described Antichrist as one who will deceptively come bringing answers to all of the geopolitical upheaval in the world exacerbated by the removal of all Christians after the rapture. “At that time a man will come on the scene with some fantastic answers concerning peace. He’ll be like a magician in his ability to get nations and people together.” Concludes Smith, “He’ll sign a covenant with the nation Israel, and Israel will accept it. He’ll build his own powerful economic bloc and monetary system. All the world will wonder after this man and follow him and his schemes and programs. This man is the Antichrist.” (3)

I am sure that many of you can identify with these prophetic schemes. After all, such is the predominant view in many evangelical and charismatic circles. But is this really what the Bible says about Antichrist? While it may come as a surprise to many, there are only four texts in Scripture (all in John’s first two epistles: 1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7) where the term “antichrist” is actually used. And while there is, in my opinion, a definite connection between John’s “Antichrist”, Paul’s “Man of Sin” (2 Thes) and the “Beast” in John’s Apocalypse (Rev 11:7; chapter 13), (4) John’s four texts set out a markedly different understanding of Antichrist than that given us by contemporary prophecy “experts.” Therefore, it is most helpful to review them.

Based on these texts, there are three critical points to be made related to John’s treatment of Antichrist. It is amazing to me that merely raising these points so quickly demonstrates how far from the biblical data so many of the current discussions about Antichrist have wandered. First, John argues that Antichrist is not some mysterious individual who is only and finally revealed in the last days. In fact, John says just the opposite. Whatever (or whoever) the Antichrist is, it (or he or she as the case may be) was already present at the time of John’s writing. John expressly states that the spirit of Antichrist, “even now is already in the world” (1 Jn 4:3b). As B. B. Warfield points out, “John makes this assertion with the utmost emphasis. This thing, he says ‘is now in the world already.'” (5) The Antichrist is a present reality for John. So while much of the current discussion about Antichrist isolates his appearance to the distant days immediately before the end, John instead describes him as a foe already existing when the epistle was written. In fact, writes John, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” (1 Jn 2:18). The very presence of Antichrist is clearly an indication that the last hour has indeed already come. And since Antichrist was present in John’s own lifetime, we can only conclude that we have been in the last hour since John composed his epistle. Therefore, we cannot ignore the present reality of Antichrist if we are to heed John’s warning.

The second important point regarding Antichrist, which is often overlooked by many, is also clear from the passage just cited. Not only has Antichrist already come, but John indicates that there is not merely one Antichrist, but a series of such enemies of Jesus Christ. “Even now,” he says “many antichrists have come.” So it is quite erroneous to contend that Antichrist is limited to a specific individual, totally unknown to Christians until his revelation immediately before Jesus Christ’s return. Many Antichrists had already come in John’s own lifetime. While it is certainly possible that this multitude of Antichrists will culminate in an Antichrist before Christ comes back, John (who alone among the New Testament writers even uses the term “Antichrist”) does not say this. But he does explicitly state that many Antichrists have already come, and their present opposition to the infant Church is part of the struggle with the forces of unbelief about which John is attempting to warn the faithful. In other words, one of John’s purposes in writing these epistles is to warn all Christians who worry that Antichrist is still to come in the last hour that, on the contrary, many Antichrists have already come, and so it is indeed already the last hour.

The third point regarding Antichrist specifically concerns just what exactly it is that characterizes his evil operations. While most contemporary speculation centers on Antichrist’s political activity, specifically his supposed seven-year peace treaty with the nation of Israel after the rapture (based, I believe, on a very, faulty reading of Daniel 9:24-27, which was already fulfilled in amazing detail during our Lord’s First Advent, thereby completing the “seventy-week” prophecy in its entirety), John’s focus is squarely upon the heretical nature of these individual Antichrists and their false doctrine. “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son” (1 Jn 2:22). In his second epistle, John reaffirms all three of these points by stating “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist (2 Jn 7).” Antichrist has already come. There are many of them. And anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh (and also, by implication, who denies the doctrine of the Trinity) is an Antichrist! Antichrist is any heretic who denies the full humanity or deity of Christ! He was already present when John wrote his first epistle, and John warns us that he will be present throughout the life of the church. John identifies him as an Antichrist solely on the basis of his confession about Jesus Christ!

Given these very clear Biblical criteria, it is difficult to see just how King Juan Carlos of Spain might qualify. But it is very easy to see how the neognostic Word-Faith teachers like Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland just might. If Antichrist is already present when John wrote his letter, if there are many of them, and if they are heretics, then just why, exactly, does so much of the current preoccupation with Antichrist focus upon a future appearance of this evil figure? Certainly this is due in part to the other images in Scripture which are likely related (i.e., Paul’s Man of Sin, John’s Beast). These may indeed have future reference. But if anything is clear from John’s use of Antichrist terminology, it is that his focus is certainly on the present danger facing the church from heretical false teaching and not on the rise of a nebulous future tyrant. And so while this series of Antichrists that John describes may indeed culminate in an Antichrist, the biblical evidence demonstrates that the primary thrust is doctrinal (the Antichrist is primarily a false teacher) and only incidentally political and economic (i.e., people being prevented from buying and selling). Perhaps the Church would be better served if there were fewer books written trying to identify the Antichrist and speculating about geopolitical intrigue, and if instead there were more exegetical works treating what Scripture actually says about these men of evil. It is a shame that so many Christians can quite readily dialogue about the latest theory as to the Antichrist’s identity, when at the same time they are often unable to defend the deity and humanity of Christ from the pages of Holy Scripture.

Kim Riddlebarger is pastor of Christ United Reformed Church (Anaheim, California) and co-host of The White Horse Inn radio broadcast. He is author of A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times and Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth about the Antichrist (Baker, 2006). Kim blogs at www.kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com.

Issue: “Eschatology” May/June 1994 Vol. 3 No. 3 Page number(s): 4-6

This article originally appeared in the “Eschatology” May/June 1994 Vol. 3 No. 3 Page number(s): 4-6 edition of Modern Reformation and is reprinted with permission. For more information about Modern Reformation, visit http://www.modernreformation.org . All rights reserved.This article is a permanently featured article, it will be available indefinitely.

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3 thoughts on “The Antichrist”

The church’ pastors, teachers, preachers and priest major on minors while the sheep run headlong into apostacy. Seeking someone to devour, satan has done a stellar job of bringing the church’ focus off Christ and His comission to the antichrist and false teachings that kill, steal and destroy.

Great article, and a very accessible, insightful book! It is a very balanced, thoughtful treatment of the subject of antichrist, the history of various eschatological views including those currently held, and the implications of each view. Thanks!

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Ephesians 2:8-9

Amplified Bible (AMP)
8For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
9Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9)

Salvation is not a system of doctrine, a religious creed, or a reformation of life. Salvation is a Person; and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherever true faith is found, there is gospel knowledge and spiritual understanding.
This man, Simeon, had a clear knowledge of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is important. Blessed are those who are thus taught of God (Isaiah 54:11-14; John 6:45). Faith in Christ is not a leap in the dark. It is confidence based upon the revelation of God. It is the result of being taught of God. It is obvious Simeon knew that God has an elect people in every race, Jew and Gentile, who are the true Israel of God. He understood that all men and women by nature are engulfed in great spiritual darkness. But he also knew that the Lord Jesus Christ, the very baby he held in his arms, is the Light of the world and the glory of God, the glory of the Triune God, the revelation of the glory of God and the glory of his people (Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Simeon knew that the Lord Jesus Christ is himself God’s salvation. ~ Don Fortner

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Discovering Christ In All The Scriptures BY Don Fortner

Verses from Proverbs

“A wrathful man stirreth up strife” (Proverbs 15:18).

“He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends” (Proverbs 17:9).

“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife” (Proverbs 26:20-21).

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Discovering Christ In All The Scriptures BY Don Fortner

“Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 1:9) The Apostle Paul tells us that among the fallen, depraved, lost, condemned ruins of humanity “there is a remnant according to the election of grace” […]

I was given the links to these two short video clips, by a friend and and sister in Jesus Christ. This one of the best biblical explanations concerning the place and role of the woman in the church and as a Christian wife and mother. I thought it good enough to share with you all. […]

“A Prophetess” Luke 2:36 God almighty is never put in a bind. He is never compelled by circumstances to change his mind, or alter his purpose. With regard to the salvation of his elect, God’s purpose is crystal clear. There is a multitude of sinners in this world, scattered through all the nations of the […]

“Backbiters” Romans 1:28-32 I cannot imagine any crime against another person which is more cowardly, despicable, and inexcusable than slander and gossip – backbiting. While such behavior is common and expected among the reprobate, there is no place for it in the kingdom of God. Many who look down their noses with scorn upon […]

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42 ) That which separates the truth from a mere religion is that the truth concerns a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. This may seem a trite and worn out phrase, but it is true […]

Pastor Fortner’s Devotional Discovering Christ Day by Day New Pocketsize Edition From GO Publications This is a beautiful soft-bound tan/brown edition designed to slip in a purse or jacket pocket. It includes a place marking ribbon and a gift presentation page. “Go through the whole Bible in a year with a daily […]

Matthew 5:47 Let it be clearly established that we who believe are justified by grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone,without the works of the law.The Lord Jesus Christ earned and obtained justification for all his people by his obedience to God as our Representative and by his sin-atoning death as our […]

Tom Hill “Who first coined the saying ‘A camel is a horse designed by a committee’? I don’t know, but I expect it was the same person who said ‘An elephant is a mouse designed to government specifications’.” (1) This bit of trivia induces laughter. However, French philosopher Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) applied this saying to […]

Text: Romans 1:1-7, 16-17 Subject: Paul’s Definition of the Gospel Date: Sunday Morning – April 23 , 2000 (The Audio is dated 2/2/2014 ) Tape # V-79a Reading: Romans 1:1-17 Introduction: Should you go to the street corner of any city in this country and ask those who passed by, or stand upon the doorsteps of almost […]

Test your John Calvin knowledge! The quiz is only 10 questions long, and since you’re such a Calvin scholar, it should take you no time at all.

The love of the truth

"They perish because they did not receive the love of
the truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thess. 2:10
There is a receiving of 'the truth', and a receiving of
'the love of the truth'. These two things widely differ.
To receive the truth will not necessarily save; for many
who receive the truth, never receive 'the love of the truth'.
Professors by thousands receive the truth into their
judgment, and adopt the plan of salvation as their creed;
but are neither saved nor sanctified thereby. But to receive
'the love of the truth' by Jesus being made sweet and
precious to the soul, is to receive salvation itself.
"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe." 1 Peter 2:7
J. C. Philpot, "The Valley of Achor" 1861

Pastor Don Fortner’s “Zingers”

Pastor Fortner addresses some subject or thought very briefly in each bulletin. Those which he authored are contained in the document below. While we believe them to be "quotable quotes" and worthy of posting to any refrigerator, some of us have given them another name. If you will allow, we call them "Zingers."

September 8, 2013
Even when His providence brings great pain and sorrow, our heavenly Father’s eye is ever watching over us to do us good.

September 1, 2013
Faithful preachers faithfully preach the Gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ all the time, and preach it in such clear and distinct terms that no one can mistake their doctrine.

August 25, 2013
Any preacher who tells you how you can make yourself more righteous than Christ has made you knows nothing of the righteousness of God and the Gospel of the grace of God.

August 18, 2013
No greater blasphemy ever spewed from the pit of hell than the blasphemous assertion that Christ died to redeem the multitudes who there suffer the wrath of God.

August 11, 2013
False prophets are hirelings who care not for the sheep. Faithful men are true shepherds who care not for themselves.

More Zingers by pastor Don Fortner

April 5, 2015
Let us ever seek grace to live by the rule of the gospel we preach, honoring God in all things; but do not imagine that you can preach the gospel by the way you live. — You can only preach the gospel by declaring it.

March 29, 2015
The world did not see Christ in Christ and did not see holiness in the Holy One, but crucified him as a vile and wicked man. Don’t ever imagine that the world will see Christ or holiness in you.

March 22, 2015
Don’t ever attempt to show the world that you are a Christian, or that you are righteous, or that you are godly, or even that you are different from others. Lost people cannot see godliness.

March 15, 2015
The works by which Abraham and Rahab showed their faith (James 2:21-25) were works seen by no one except God. Even so, the works by which we show our faith are works seen by God alone. Others may benefit from them, but God alone sees them, and sees them as works of faith.

March 8, 2015
Show your faith by your works, as God the Holy Ghost teaches us to do (James 2:18); but don’t ever attempt show your faith to men. They can’t see it.

March 1, 2015
Let us seek grace to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world, to live as sinners saved by the grace of God, to live for God and to the glory of God; but let us never attempt to show the world that we are Christians. The show of religion our Savior expressly forbids (Matthew 6:5-18).

February 22, 2015
God declares things to be what they are manifestly made to be before he makes them to be what he makes them to be (Romans 4:17).

February 8, 2015
God enriches his saints by poverty, strengthens them by weakness, makes them healthy by sickness, and lifts them up by abasing them.

February 1, 2015
The beginning and end of the faithful pastor’s work is to know Christ and to make him known. To that great work God’s servant must give himself entirely, and delights to do so.